


The Answer

by OllyAster



Series: Bloodlines AU [2]
Category: Original Work, The Magical Twins
Genre: Gift Work, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:47:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23809360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OllyAster/pseuds/OllyAster
Summary: With Lilyana gone, all Adalia is left with is the book that the other held so close. Maybe now the Queen will finally get the answers she’s been looking for.
Series: Bloodlines AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1712422





	The Answer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bubblellop](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Bubblellop).



> CW: Blood  
> Author’s Disclaimer: Again, other than minor grammatical changes here and there this fic is basically a first draft. Meaning it might be a complete mess. Read at your own risk.

Adalia could feel her heart pounding against her chest. Breath coming out heavy as she forced her body to relax,  _ I.. I did it.  _

_ Now what? _

The question had not been one Adalia had considered before. Yet now it seemed to be consuming her thoughts as she stared at the body in front of her. The body that seemed all too determined to cling to life with rattled breath. The sound made Adalia shiver. 

_ Should I put her out of her misery?  _ The Queen wondered to herself. After a moment her face scrunched up in disgust,  _ No. Let her suffer. It’s what she deserves with all the trouble she caused. _

_ But is it what I want? _

“Yes! It is!” Adalia snapped at herself a little louder than she meant to. She tensed, pausing. Once no one came, she relaxed,  _ I need to get out of here.  _

As the Queen turned to leave she stopped. In the corner of her eye, she saw a book.  _ The _ book. The one that Lilyana had tried to keep away from her. The one Lilyana  _ died _ trying to keep away from her.

_ Why? _

Curiously Adalia walked over and picked the thing up. It seemed more like a journal than a book. The cover was blank minus some scratches here and there. It was tempting to open it right then to see what was inside, but Adalia restrained herself.

_ I need to get back to base _ .  _ Especially with all this blood. _

Adalia had expected to feel some sort of triumph being covered in the blood of her enemy. To get over her aversion of being covered in it like Varis said she would. 

She wasn’t there just yet.

A rustle from nearby bushes caused Adalia to jump.  _ Someone’s coming. _ She darted into the shrubbery in the opposite direction of the sound. Although through the leaves she couldn’t see who it was she heard their voice: 

“Rhett! Rhett get over here, someone’s hurt!”

Humans.

The Queen rolled her eyes,  _ Let them play doctor on a corpse.  _ There was no saving Lilyana at this point she was sure. As quietly as she could, Adalia untangled herself and began walking back towards the temporary camp.

* * *

“Queen Adalia! You’re- back..” 

Adalia could hear the sentence die in Liv’s throat as the other seemed to process all the blood. The others didn’t appear to be in the line to speak up either. She could tell none of them expected her to go through with the plan by the startled look in their eyes. Even Samantha seemed unnerved.

_But the deed is done._

“I’ll be in my quarters,” Adalia told them sternly “Do  _ not  _ disturb me.”

She walked off before any of them had the chance to reply.

Once in the privacy of her tent, Adalia tore off the cape that had begun to weigh particularly heavy on her shoulders. She carelessly tossed it aside. Not bothering to hang it up. She walked over to the desk that she had put up and set down Lilyana’s journal. For a moment Adalia simply let it sit there. Begging to be opened and read. What would be in there? Would it just be some basic journal where the other kept note of the things she did every day? Would it hold some deep dark secret? Would it hold the answer to why Lilyana seemed so determined to take her down?

_ Only one way to find out. _

Slowly Adalia opened the journal to the first page. 

_ “I finally got to meet Adalia today. She didn’t seem to recognize me and our conversation ended with her sword at my throat. Not exactly how I wanted things to go but its a start! I think.” _

Adalia remembered the interaction very clearly. Somehow Lilyana had snuck her way into her quarters without being seen. She didn’t get far in what she was trying to say before Adalia had her up against a wall threatening to slit her throat. Though most of what the other had said was lost on her, Adalia couldn’t forget the look on Lilyana’s face when she said:

_ “Wait- you don’t.. recognize me?” _

Lilyana had looked at her as if she had burned her favorite possession and then returned the ashes to her. After the realization seemed to hit that Adalia didn’t recognize her, Lilyana apologized profusely and started rambling about how she thought Adalia would know. It didn’t get to last too long before Adalia had thrown her out and told her not to come back.

_Thought I would know what?_

Only one way to find out.

_ “I’m still not sure why she didn’t recognize me. Did mom not tell her? Why wouldn’t mom tell her? Did she not get the chance to?” _

That made Adalia raise an eyebrow.  _ What does her mom have to do with any of this? Unless.. _

_ No. _

Adalia found herself laughing at the thought.

_ That’s ridiculous. It wouldn’t even make any sense for her to- _

_ But what if she is? _

The Queen found herself leaning into the journal to read more.

_ “If she doesn’t know then how am I supposed to tell her? How do I even get her to believe me? I guess I’ll just have to figure it out as I go.” _

The entry ended there and another from a day later began. Adalia skipped through the pages. Looking for a date closer to the current one. A particular entry caught her eye.

_ “I messed up. I messed up and now Adalia wants me dead. I didn’t mean to hurt her. It was an accident. She was waving her sword around at me and I got scared like a little kid. I hurt my sister and” _

_ Sister. _

_ Her sister- _

Adalia shook her head, “It has to be a joke. Some kind of sick joke she’s trying to make-” she tried to reason with herself.

_ But why would she lie in a journal that I probably wasn’t even meant to ever see? _

She kept reading.

_ “and now she wants me dead. She’s not going to believe me now. Especially with Varis constantly in her head. Even if I tell her Varis will just find some way to twist things.” _

A shiver rolled down Adalia’s back at the mention of Varis. Although the other wasn’t there it suddenly felt like their eyes were boring into her. She shook her head and brought her attention back to the journal.

_ “I need to get them away from each other. Its the only chance I have to get Adalia to believe me. But I don’t know how I’m going to do but I have to. I need her to believe me. I need for her to believe we’re sisters. I promised mom I would look out for her I can’t just _

Adalia slammed the book shut, causing the table to shake. She shook a deep breath.

_ It’s just a lie. A very complicated, long game lie that she just kept going in her personal journal that I probably would have never seen if I hadn’t- _

_ It’s not a lie, is it? _

Adalia could feel her gut start to twist and an all too familiar feeling started to rise in her throat. Here she was again. Covered in the blood of a family member ready to cry like a child and feeling like she was going to be sick. She screwed her eyes shut.

_ How disappointing. _

“Um, Queen Adalia?” Liv’s voice came from outside the tent “I know you asked not to be disturbed but, I wanted to make sure you’re alright.”

“I’m  _ fi- _ ” Adalia tried to say but her voice crackled. Although her back was turned she could hear Liv enter the tent. She didn’t bother facing the other.

“Do you.. want to talk about it?”

“There’s nothing to talk about I’m  _ fine _ ”

“But-”

“Get  _ OUT  _ Liv!” Adalia snapped as she turned around. Liv flinched away before her face morphed into something that could only be described as pity. Adalia scowled. 

“I don’t think it’s good for you to be alone right now” Liv pointed out gently “You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but at least let me stay. Please?”

A moment passed before Adalia let out a sigh, “ _ Fine. _ ”

Smiling, Liv walked over and stood next to the Queen. The silence wasn’t particularly comfortable but Adalia found it easier to center herself with someone next to her. 

_ I’m safe. _

_ I’m here. _

_ I have everything under control. _

_ Everything is ok. _

_ Breathe. _

“Liv, I need you to do something for me,” Adalia said softly.

The other turned to her curiously, “Yes?”

“I need you to ask Skyle to locate the body of-  _ you know who _ ” Adalia explained with roughness in her voice, “Before I left her some of those weird human creatures came around and I want to know what they did with her. No matter what Skyle finds I want her to simply come back and report it straight to me, understood?”

Liv nodded, “Of course my Queen.” She paused before taking Adalia's hand in her own, “Remember to be nice to yourself. You’re doing the best you can and what you think is right. That’s more than enough.” With that, she was gone.

In her wake, she left a single gladiolus in Adalia’s hand. The other stared at the fragile flower. It was mostly white with a pinkish center. Part of Adalia was tempted to crush the thing in her hand and turn it to ash, but she refrained. Instead she turned back to the table and carefully placed it down above Lilyana’s journal. Said journal continued to sit there mockingly. Still tempting to be read and looked through. 

“Might as well do something while I wait,” Adalia muttered to herself as she opened the journal again. Long having tuned out the cyan blood still on her clothes.


End file.
